Looking at that last post of mine, I realize how much I sound like a buffoon. This blogging thing is new to me, so I'm not sure if the blown-up, pretentious flourishes are due to a) literary tendencies, b) growing pains as I adjust to proper blogging tone, or c) a reflection of the pompous ass that I truly am. Methinks the latter.
I wonder what piano tuners listen to at home. Complicated Bach fugues, where a multitude of notes weave around each other, in complex and perfect harmonies? Or do they sit in dark rooms with the blinds pulled, pieces by Morton Feldman or Schoenburg at high volume: gloriously dissonant, where nothing ever sounds right, and all that order undoes itself.
Our guy looked like he was probably a fan of Bruce Springsteen or Roch Voisine.
I went to see The Arcade Fire tonight at Petit Cafe Campus. They're breaking up - finishing up the last of their scheduled shows, then splitting. I won't go into the details, but I can't help but feel that this is a huge mistake: the magic of the group (and there is magic - they are one of the greatest bands I have ever heard) comes not just from the songwriting-in-the-strictest-sense... Dane and Brendan on drums make the pop songs so much more sublime.
anyway.
I bring this up because, although the songs all sounded pretty good (the crowd certainly enjoyed them), it all just felt somehow bleak to me. Somewhere in the music was this encroaching feeling of dread, of it-doesn't-matter... I felt like I was watching a sinking ship. This is much the same sensation I had when I saw Radiohead perform in Barrie - I wrote about it then - and those predictions/observations turned out wholly false. Hopefully, this too is a projected illusion. Hopefully these musicians' music will soar again, be it in their current configuration or no.
Ok, enough with the scenester musings.
The last few nights, I've done a lot of walking in the cold and quiet - nights, afternoons - and each time I've happened to be listening to stripped-down acoustic bluegrass. The lovely Jolie Holland record (which I'll be reviewing for TM soon) on Friday/Saturday, and The Boggs today. There's something oh-so fulfilling about this simple, acheing music when the sky hangs heavy above you, when the streets are silent or empty. The music is so simply true... none of this rock'n'roll nonsense and posturing.